


Cardiff

by Mlr96



Series: The Two Doctors [8]
Category: Criminal Minds, Doctor Who, Torchwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-18 20:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11297949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mlr96/pseuds/Mlr96
Summary: Eighth in The Two Doctors series about Dr. Spencer Reid, a genius, an FBI Agent, a profiler and a Time Lord.Story #8, Part 1:A couple of phone calls later and he boarded a flight across the Atlantic. Less than twenty-four hours after he had been told of the vacation, Spencer debated falling into the bed of his hotel in Cardiff to sleep his way through the jet-lag only to be stopped by a knock on the door.Part 2:Honestly, a spaceship flying over London was the Doctor's equivalent to putting up a sign declaring his presence on the highway. Just as sending out military troops to blow the ship up was the Master's equivalent to sending out a message saying 'I'm here' to replay on every television.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally tying up all of the loose ends from "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday". as well as small hints to "The Runaway Bride".
> 
> And Jack. I reread "Christmas", and remembered the Doctor saying that Jack reminded him of the Professor, so I decided I had to put a scene of the two of them together :)
> 
> Part 2 will be up either tomorrow or the day after that.

Spencer couldn’t help looking over his shoulder as he walked into the hotel. He tried telling himself that there was nothing to worry about, but even he didn’t believe himself.

Six months had passed since he last heard from the Doctor. Close to two since the Master first contacted him. His phone buzzed in his pocket, as if to remind him of those two facts, but he didn’t move to look at it.

He walked straight to the reception deck, fighting not to roll his eyes when the woman who greeted him seemed to turn somewhat cold upon hearing his accent before quickly handing him the key to his room and sending him away. He’d been in Cardiff for less than two hours and was already starting to tire of this attitude.

Maybe he should just fake his accent. Rassilion knows that he’d done that enough times, though not even once since he stopped being the Professor. He considered it for another moment before deciding to stick to his regular one.

Spencer Reid had nothing to be ashamed of, or so he told himself. He didn’t believe that, either.

When Hotch told them they all got a week off for Christmas, Spencer knew trouble was coming. Forced vacations – and, no matter what Strauss was telling them, this _was_ a forced vacation – meant their superiors in the chain of command needed some time to cool over something the team did. He didn’t know what they did, but he knew they’d unknowingly done something.

But with Prentiss being all but forced to go visit her mother, and the rest having their own families to go to for Christmas, Spencer realized if he won’t do something soon, he’ll spend all of Christmas with only his thoughts to accompany him.

A couple of phone calls later and he boarded a flight across the Atlantic. Less than twenty-four hours after he had been told of the vacation, Spencer debated falling into the bed of his hotel in Cardiff to sleep his way through the jet-lag only to be stopped by a knock on the door.

The man who smiled at him when he opened the door wasn’t someone Spencer met personally before, though they spoke very often on the phone during the past six months. Captain Jack Harkness looked Spencer up and down before his smile widened.

“Wish I’d met you before, Spencer,” he said with a cheeky wink. “If I’d known you were this cute I’d have boarded a flight to the States _ages_ ago.”

Spencer couldn’t help but return the smile. The more he got to know Jack, the more he understood what the Doctor told him over a year ago. The 51st century man did more than just remind Spencer of his own past regenerations, he somehow managed to bring out part of him that his teammates will be shocked to find out were there, if they ever found out.

“Please, ignore him,” a woman with a heavy local accent said. “He’s always like that, that’s why I came here. Had to make sure he’s not overwhelming our guest,” she added with a pointed look towards Jack.

Spencer smirked. “Oh, I’d be more worried about him, if I were you,” he said. “Not sure if he could keep up to my pace.”

“Keep up?” Jack repeated, raising a brow. “And what pace would that be, old man?”

“Well, I _do_ have a binary vascular system,” Spencer mused. “Two hearts means it takes a lot to tire me out.”

“Really?” Jack questioned. “Anything else you’ve got two of?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you want to find out?”

“Would you like me to leave the two of you alone?” the woman cut in, annoyed.

“If you want,” Jack replied, not taking his eyes off Spencer. “We _do_ have a bed.”

“We also have work to do,” Spencer reminded him. “Maybe later. I’m Spencer, by the way,” he added, turning to look at the woman.

“I know,” she smiled. “Gwen Cooper. Also known as the one who thought one of him was bad enough,” she added, nodding towards Jack.

“From what I’ve heard, you should have met him in his past regenerations,” Jack said. “This is tamed compared to them.”

“Oh, I dread to think,” Gwen muttered, but Spencer could see the hint of a smile on her lips.

“Should we get going?” he asked. “You said you needed some help upgrading some of your systems.”

“Yes,” Jack replied, smoothly switching to business mode. “We’ll walk, the Hub’s not so far away.”

“Yes, it is,” Gwen said with a frown. “It’s at least half an hour’s walk.”

“The guest entrance isn’t,” Jack told her, before turning to Spencer. “Ready to be impressed, Dr. Reid?”

“I’m over 600 years old, Captain,” Spencer replied with a wide smile. “I’d like to see you try.”

* * *

_Well,_ Spencer thought as he descended into the Hub, watching the dimly-lit room come to life as a pterodactyl flew next to them, _he sure did try._

The members of Jack’s team moved to stand closer to where the elevator landed, Gwen barely hiding a smile while one of the others looked mildly curious and the remaining two, a man and a woman, stared at him shamelessly.

The elevator came to a stop and Jack stepped down, offering Spencer a hand the Time Lord declined as he walked closer to the group, looking around.

“So?” Jack asked. “Impressed you yet?”

Spencer took another glance around the place, taking it in with a thoughtful look. “You do know that I grew up on a planet with red grass and two suns, right?”

“Show off,” Jack grumbled.

“Time Lord,” Spencer retorted, turning to look at the woman who was still staring at him. “You’re Toshiko Sato, right? I read your work on sonic devices and your idea to implant their use in day-to-day devices was intriguing. Mind if I ask where did you think of the idea to have a sonic screwdriver?”

“Er…” Toshiko glanced towards Jack, who smiled knowingly. “Just something I saw a couple of years ago when I arrived as a consultant to UNIT.”

“After a spaceship crashed into Big Ben,” Spencer nodded. “I read the report files about the event, and got updates first hand as the day went by. Coincidently, I got my updates from the same man who held the sonic screwdriver.”

“Show off,” Jack repeated in a singsong voice.

“Yeah, I am,” Spencer smiled, turning to the other two men. “And you are…?”

“Dr. Owen Harper,” the man who stared earlier said, reaching out a hand for a shake. “Don’t think I’m as familiar with your work as you are with hers, though.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to,” Spencer said. “In the past five years or so I’ve mainly posted works about the connection between Mathematics to Psychology and Sociology and the usages the three have in different profiling methods.” He glanced at Owen’s hand, looking at it for a moment before adding, “I don’t shake hands. Sorry, it’s just a habit that doesn’t seem to wear off. People might get nervous when they feel the double heartbeat.”

“It’s fine,” Owen said, bringing his hand back. “How about I’ll let it slide and you’ll let slide that I didn’t understand about half of what you said earlier?”

“Deal,” Spencer told him, turning to the last man with a questioning look.

“Ianto Jones,” the man said, and something shifted in the atmosphere of the room.

Spencer looked at the other man, no friendly smile on his face but no anger on it, either. There was only apathy as he spoke, studying Ianto carefully.

“You’re one of the Twenty Seven.”

The words seemed to catch Ianto off-guard, but he looked right at Spencer rather than backing away as most people would have done, something the Time Lord couldn’t help but appreciate.

“Yes, I am,” he said.

The way Jack looked from one of them to the other and back to the first didn’t seem to help either of them calm down.

“Rose and Jackie Tyler were my friends,” Spencer said tightly, and Ianto swallowed.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Spencer nodded silently before turning away, retreating into the lower levels of the Hub.

“The Twenty Seven?” Gwen repeated, confused.

“The twenty seven survivors from the Battle of Canary Wharf,” Ianto said quietly. “The only members of Torchwood One who didn’t die.”

“Rose and Jackie Tyler were right at the heart of the fighting, head to head with the Daleks and Cybermen,” Jack explained. “Their bodies were never even found.”

He sighed, looking at Spencer’s retreating back. This was going to be one awkward Christmas.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Part 2 is now up. Hope you enjoy it :)

There never seemed to be a stop to the work in the Torchwood Hub. Spencer had only been there for three days and he and Tosh upgraded the entire computer system, he helped Owen refill his stock of alien drugs, as well as made sure they were all safe to use on humans and spent an entire afternoon helping Gwen correlate between Torchwood and the local PD.

While at it and as if it was nothing special – which, to be honest, it probably wasn’t – they also captured four Weevles who ran loose and created havoc in the streets of Cardiff and monitored two peaks in the rift’s activity.

Truly, if it wasn’t for Ianto’s apparent ability to look at someone and prepare the ultimate coffee for their needs, Spencer would have killed Jack after the tenth time the former Time Agent proposed that they’d take a break in Spencer’s hotel room. Or in Jack’s flat. Or office. Or, once, the holding cells.

He was no longer as angry at the Welsh as he had been before, knowing that the Battle wasn’t his fault and knowing that he had lost a great number of friends that day, as well, but though he managed to be friendly with him he didn’t think they could ever truly become friends.

There was simply too much baggage to carry between them.

It was on Christmas Eve that Jack finally revealed the true reason he wanted Spencer to come visit. The team got a night off, leaving only the two of them in the Hub as Jack revealed his immortality to the Time Lord. Spencer frowned, running a couple of scans on Jack before sighing.

“I knew that _something_ was wrong when I looked at you,” he admitted. “But I didn’t think of it much because I knew that the Doctor travelled with you, so I thought that I imagined it. But now…” he sighed again. “Somehow, at a certain point between the Doctor starting to travel with you and when you were left on Satellite Five, you became a fixed point in time.”

“Sorry,” Jack said with a confused frown, “I thought that only events could be fixed points in time.”

“Theoretically, yes,” Spencer replied. “A person being a fixed point… it shouldn’t happen. It’s a mistake – no offence,” he quickly added.

“None taken, I think,” Jack sighed. “So, is there anything you can do? Can you… can you fix me?”

“I… I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do,” Spencer sighed. “Maybe the Doctor could do something with the TARDIS, but I very much doubt it. Once something becomes a fixed point, there’s nothing you can do to change it.”

“So, what?” Jack asked. “I’m stuck like this? I’ll never be able to die?”

“I don’t know,” Spencer admitted. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jack sighed. “Should have expected it, really, but I couldn’t help but stay hopeful. After living so long…”

“Yeah,” Spencer sighed. “I know.”

“And my team…” Jack added. “I’ve never grown this close to a Torchwood team before, and to know that one day they’ll…”

“I know,” Spencer repeated. “I’m trying very hard not to think about…” he trailed off at the sound of beeping coming from Jack’s computer, frowning in confusion. “What’s that?”

“Alert on alien aircraft inside Earth’s inner atmosphere,” Jack replied, moving to check it more closely. “Let’s see if we can get a picture… oh.”

“What?” Spencer asked, moving closer to look as well. “What is – oh.”

The two men looked at one another, knowing that the video that appeared on the screen could only mean one thing.

One car-drive later found Spencer laying on the bed of his hotel room, trying to wrap his mind around everything that happened. In less than an hour, news would spread and he would have to answer stressed phone calls from his teammates, but for now he had some peace to think over what happened.

He would seek a thorough explanation further on, but judging on what he knew so far, the entire situation screamed ‘Doctor’. Honestly, a spaceship flying over London was the Doctor’s equivalent to putting up a sign declaring his presence on the highway. Just as sending out military troops to blow the ship up was the Master’s equivalent to sending out a message saying ‘I’m here’ to replay on every television.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Spencer’s cellphone started ringing in the special ringtone he set as the Master’s. He knew that he couldn’t simply ignore it, no matter how much he wanted, and reluctantly brought the phone closer to him.

“What do you want?”

“Oh, Professor,” the Master sighed. “So rude. Did you really forget all of the etiquette lessons they gave us as kids? Then again,” he mused, “I remember you offering a _much_ better way to spend these lessons.”

“I asked you a question,” Spencer said through gritted teeth.

“And I chose to ignore it, _Professor_.”

“Don’t call me that,” Spencer bit out. “That’s not my name.”

“It’s the name I knew you as,” the Master said. “If I recall well, you didn’t used to have a problem with me calling you that – or, more accurately, me calling that name in general while we –”

“What do you want?” Spencer cut him off sharply. “I’m really not in the mood for this, Master.”

“The dear Doctor’s back in town,” the Master said. “Did he call you, yet?”

“Kind of hard to with you clogging the line.”

“This regeneration really is quite rude,” the Master said again. “Didn’t dear mummy teach you manners?”

“Go to hell,” Spencer replied, turning to hang up the call only to be stopped by the next words the Master said.

“You didn’t say anything about my present, though.”

“ _What_?”

“My present,” the Master repeated. “The pretty missiles, I made them for you.”

“Don’t you dare call shooting a spaceship and killing everyone inside something you did for _me_ ,” Spencer all but snarled. “You kill because you enjoy it, Master. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“There was a Racnoss inside, Professor,” the Master said. “You can’t just expect me to –”

“ _Don’t call me Professor_!”

Spencer was breathing hard, his hearts pounding quickly in his ears. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t keep in touch with the Master any more, it will drive him to be as crazy as the other Time Lord is. He had to cut it off, and he had to do it _now_.

“Goodbye, Master,” he said simply, removing the phone from his ear.

“Spencer, wait –”

But he had already pressed the button, falling on the bed and closing his eyes.

It had been two months since the Master first contacted him, and six since he last spoke to the Doctor. He knew that even if his friend would call now he wouldn’t tell him about the Master being back – there was too much risk, especially considering he had just hung up in his face – but he needed to hear his voice, to know for certain that he as alright.

More than that, he needed an explanation. He _deserved_ an explanation.

The Doctor picked up after the first dial, but Spencer suddenly found himself at loss for words.

“Spencer?” the man on the other end of the line asked. “Spencer, are you there?”

It was like a dam broke at the sound of the Doctor’s voice, and Spencer didn’t know if he was ever going to be able to close it again.

“Where the _hell_ have you been?” he growled. “Six months, Doctor. _Six months_ since Canary Wharf, and even when you finally _do_ come back, you don’t even bother to call me?”

“I only just came back,” the Doctor said. “Spencer, I planned on calling you as soon as I had the time, I was just… busy.”

“Busy,” Spencer repeated. “Yeah, I saw. Drained the Thames. Found the time for that, didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t by choice,” the Doctor said. “There was a Racnoss –”

“Do I _sound_ like I care for your excuses?” Spencer asked. “Six _months_ , Doctor!”

“It was less than a day ago for me!” the Doctor called out. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner but I couldn’t! I still can’t! I can’t talk about it because Rose and her mother –”

“I know that they’re dead!” Spencer called back. “Not that you bothered telling me, though, I had to find out from the list of the dead!”

“They’re not dead!”

At that, Spencer froze. “What?” he asked, confused.

“They’re not dead,” the Doctor repeated, still breathing heavily after the screaming match that proceeded his words. “They’re… they’re in another universe – they’re _trapped_ in another universe. The one Mickey is in. The one where… the one where Pete Tyler never died.”

“They’re… trapped?” Spencer asked.

“They’re alive,” the Doctor said. “Rose is alive. But I’ll never be able to see her again.”

“What about…” Spencer swallowed hard. “What about the Cybermen?”

“Also from the other universe,” the Doctor said. “There was a breach in the walls between worlds and they came through.”

“And…” Spencer swallowed hard. “The Daleks?”

The Doctor was silent for a moment before speaking, sounding as if saying the words caused him physical pain.

“From the Void,” he said, and Spencer’s breath hitched. “From… they came from the Time War. The Time Lords trapped them there. When the walls between worlds breached…”

“There was access to the Void and they came back through,” Spencer sighed. “Where are they now?”

“Back in hell,” the Doctor replied with a darkness Spencer rarely heard in him. “The Cybermen and the Daleks, all back in the Void.”

Spencer took a shaky breath, closing his eyes. “How does it always happen?” he asked. “Why… why do they keep on winning, when we always lose?”

“They don’t win,” the Doctor said. “Spencer, they didn’t win. All of the Daleks are gone now.”

“That’s what you said last time,” Spencer replied. “So how do they keep coming back when all of our people are gone?”


End file.
